Above: "Little Corn Dancer," an artwork by Herman Ilfeld Bacharach (1899-1976), created while he was in the WPA, ca. 1935-1943. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration, Julie Redwine, and the Free Library of Philadelphia.
According to his obituary in the Las Vegas Optic (August 13, 1976), Bacharach was born in 1899, into a family of "pioneer merchants" in Las Vegas. He graduated from art school at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), and became "an artist of note." He was "especially interested in Indian ceremonials, dances and their depiction by Indian artists." Bacharach also illustrated children's books and designed costumes for the Ziegfeld Follies. During World War II, he served in the Air Force.
A 2002 article on New Mexico State University's website offers a somewhat different biography of Bacharach, for example, reporting that he graduated from New Mexico Normal University and attended UPenn, "where he apparently left after about a year. His parents believed he was in dental school, while Bacharach was pursuing a career in art... As an artist he achieved no fame... Upon the death of his father, Herman returned to Las Vegas to help with the family business, Bacharach Bros., and never returned to the East and his artistic career again." However, the Las Vegas Optic published at least two other articles about Bacharach that would seem to dispute parts of this account: an article about a first place art award he won while attending UPenn (April 16, 1921) and another article announcing his return to UPenn's "fine arts department" after a visit home to Las Vegas (September 10, 1921). It seems unlikely that his parents were unaware of his art studies and ambitions - at least, not for very long.
Considering the various sources, it seems Bacharach was probably a fairly accomplished and successful artist but, for one reason or another (more stable income? the desire to preserve a legacy?), chose to focus on the family business after World War II.
No comments:
Post a Comment